U.S. patent number 9,895,096 [Application Number 12/964,139] was granted by the patent office on 2018-02-20 for athletic performance monitoring system utilizing heart rate information.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Nike, Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is Matt Capozzi, Kwamina Crankson, Michael Benjamin Hailey, Jason Nims. Invention is credited to Matt Capozzi, Kwamina Crankson, Michael Benjamin Hailey, Jason Nims.
United States Patent |
9,895,096 |
Nims , et al. |
February 20, 2018 |
Athletic performance monitoring system utilizing heart rate
information
Abstract
Athletic activity may be monitored using heart rate in addition
to or instead of other types of metrics. Accordingly, multiple
different activity types may be compared based on heart rate
information. Additionally, the heart rate information may be
visualized by displaying the heart rate data over time or relative
to pace or distance. Additionally, the system may allow a user to
analyze his or her heart rate performance by identifying one or
more portions of the athletic activity in which a user exhibited a
specified range of heart rates. Athletic activity sessions may
further be tagged with various indicators including weather,
terrain, difficulty and intensity. According to one or more
aspects, data for different types of activity metrics may be polled
and/or transmitted to a system at different rates or based on
different schedules. Moreover, users may specify whether sensed
data may be uploaded, recorded and/or visualized prior to or during
an activity session.
Inventors: |
Nims; Jason (Portland, OR),
Capozzi; Matt (Portland, OR), Hailey; Michael Benjamin
(Forest Grove, OR), Crankson; Kwamina (Portland, OR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Nims; Jason
Capozzi; Matt
Hailey; Michael Benjamin
Crankson; Kwamina |
Portland
Portland
Forest Grove
Portland |
OR
OR
OR
OR |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Nike, Inc. (Beaverton,
OR)
|
Family
ID: |
43608219 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/964,139 |
Filed: |
December 9, 2010 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20110275940 A1 |
Nov 10, 2011 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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61285049 |
Dec 9, 2009 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
24/0062 (20130101); A61B 5/222 (20130101); A63B
2225/50 (20130101); A63B 2220/00 (20130101); A63B
2230/06 (20130101); A63B 2024/0065 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61B
5/02 (20060101); A61B 5/22 (20060101); A63B
24/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;482/1,3,7-9,901-902
;600/486-525 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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JP |
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2007117719 |
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May 2007 |
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JP |
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2009050699 |
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Mar 2009 |
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JP |
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2009-078134 |
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Apr 2009 |
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JP |
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2009-535157 |
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Oct 2009 |
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JP |
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10-0498794 |
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Jul 2006 |
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KR |
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10-2008-0022680 |
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Mar 2008 |
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KR |
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2008/101168 |
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Aug 2008 |
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WO |
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2009/033034 |
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Mar 2009 |
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WO |
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2009111472 |
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Sep 2009 |
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WO |
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Other References
International search report and written opinion for PCT application
No. PCT/US2010/059656 dated Jun. 17, 2011. cited by applicant .
Office Action issued in corresponding Canadian Patent Application
No. 2,783,791 dated Oct. 8, 2014. cited by applicant .
Feb. 27, 2014 Office Action issued in Chinese Patent Application
No. 201080060958.X. cited by applicant .
Sep. 27, 2013 Office Action issued in Canadian Patent Application
No. 2783791. cited by applicant .
Jan. 22, 2015 Office Action issued in Chinese Application No.
201080060958.X. cited by applicant .
Nov. 4, 2014 Office Action issued in Japanese Application No.
2012-543278. cited by applicant .
Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-7017070--Office Action dated
Sep. 27, 2013. cited by applicant .
Nov. 26, 2013 Office Action issued in Japanese Application No.
2012-543278. cited by applicant.
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Primary Examiner: Natnithithadha; Navin
Assistant Examiner: Messersmith; Eric
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a non-provisional application of and claims the
benefit of priority from U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/285,049,
entitled "ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE MONITORING SYSTEM UTILIZING HEART
RATE INFORMATION," and filed Dec. 9, 2009. The content of the
application is incorporate herein by reference in its entirety.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An athletic performance monitoring system comprising: a data
collection module comprising a processor and memory operatively
coupled to the processor, the memory storing computer readable
instructions that, when executed, cause the data collection module
to: detect the presence of one or more athletic activity sensors,
poll the one or more athletic activity sensors for athletic
performance data, and receive the athletic performance data; a
first sensor configured to measure a first type of athletic
activity parameter, wherein the first type of athletic activity
parameter includes one of: a speed of a user performing the
athletic activity, a pace of the user performing the athletic
activity, and a distance traveled by the user performing the
athletic activity; and a second sensor configured to measure a
second type of athletic activity parameter different from the first
type, wherein the second type of athletic activity parameter
includes a heart rate of the user performing an athletic activity,
wherein, when the athletic performance monitoring system is used to
detect athletic activity of the user: the data collection module is
configured to collect heart rate information through the second
sensor for a plurality of activity types, and configured to provide
the user with a plurality of heart beat credits that are configured
to be earned and dedicated by the user to one or more interests of
the user, and the data collection module is configured to collect
the first type of athletic activity parameter through the first
sensor for only a subset of the plurality of activity types.
2. The athletic performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein
the data collection module is configured to receive the athletic
performance data wirelessly from the one or more athletic activity
sensors.
3. The athletic performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein
the data collection module is further configured to: automatically
detect the second sensor; and attempt to detect the first sensor
while providing the user with an option to: initiate athletic
activity monitoring prior to detecting the first sensor, wherein
athletic activity monitoring includes detecting athletic activity
using the second sensor.
4. The athletic performance monitoring system of claim 3, wherein
the data collection module is further configured to display an
indicator identifying sensors that have been detected by the data
collection module.
5. The athletic performance monitoring system of claim 1, wherein
at least one of the plurality of heart beat credits has an
expiration date that is extended upon the user performing an
additional workout.
6. A method comprising: generating, by a computing device, a graph
for an athletic activity comprising heart rate information and pace
information, wherein generating the graph is performed after
completion of the athletic activity, and wherein the graph includes
a first graphical representation of the heart rate information and
a second graphical representation, different from the first
graphical representation, of the pace information; generating a
heart rate profile of a user for a workout, from the completed
athletic activity, wherein the user is alerted when the workout
meets a predefined heart rate profile with specified portions of
the workout falling within multiple heart rate ranges, and wherein
the user is provided with a plurality of heart beat credits, the
plurality of heart beat credits configured to be earned and
dedicated by the user to one or more interests of the user;
generating, by the computing device, a heart rate range control
including an upper limit control element and a lower limit control
element; receiving a first user selection of a first heart rate
range after the graph has been generated, wherein receiving the
first user selection of the first heart rate range includes:
receiving user input indicating a change in a position of at least
one of the upper limit control element and the lower limit control
element; and in response, determining the first heart rate range,
wherein the first heart rate range is a range of heart rates
between a lower heart rate limit corresponding to the lower limit
control element and an upper heart rate limit corresponding to the
upper limit control element; determining, by the computing device,
a first portion of the graph corresponding to the selected first
heart rate range in response to receiving the first user selection;
and visually identifying the first portion of the graph differently
from at least one other portion of the graph not corresponding to
the selected first heart rate range.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: receiving a second
user selection of a second heart rate range; determining a second
portion of the graph corresponding to the selected second heart
rate range, the second portion being different from the first
portion; and visually identifying the second portion of the graph
in a manner different from the first portion of the graph and
simultaneously with visually identifying the first portion of the
graph.
8. The method of claim 6, further comprising: determining a
percentage of the activity spent in the first heart rate range; and
displaying the percentage.
9. The method of claim 6, further comprising displaying the heart
rate range control as an axis of the graph.
10. The method of claim 6, further comprising displaying at least
one marker in the graph, wherein the marker is indicative of at
least one of: a highest heart rate and a lowest heart rate.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one of the highest
heart rate and the lowest heart rate is determined based on an
average heart rate of a previous predetermined amount of time and a
subsequent predetermined amount of time.
12. The method of claim 6, further comprising: generating, by the
computing device, a display indicating a number of heart beat
credits dedicated to the one or more interests of the user.
13. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and memory operatively
coupled to the processor and storing computer readable instructions
that, when executed, cause the apparatus to: generate a graph for a
completed athletic activity session, the graph comprising heart
rate information and pace information, wherein the graph includes a
first graphical representation of the heart rate information and a
second graphical representation, different from the first graphical
representation, of the pace information; generate a heart rate
profile of a user for a workout, from the completed athletic
activity session, wherein the user is alerted when the workout
meets a predefined heart rate profile with specified portions of
the workout falling within multiple heart rate ranges, and wherein
the user is provided with a plurality of heart beat credits that
are configured to be earned and dedicated by the user to one or
more interests of the user; generate a heart rate range control
including an upper limit control element and a lower limit control;
receive a first user selection of a first heart rate range after
generating the graph, wherein receiving the first user selection of
the first heart rate range includes: receiving user input
indicating a change in a position of at least one of the upper
limit control element and the lower limit control element; and in
response, determining the first heart rate range, wherein the first
heart rate range is a range of heart rates between a lower heart
rate limit corresponding to the lower limit control element and an
upper heart rate limit corresponding to the upper limit control
element; determine a first portion of the graph corresponding to
the selected first heart rate range; and visually identify the
first portion of the graph differently from at least one other
portion of the graph not corresponding to the selected first heart
rate range.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the computer readable
instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to:
determine a heart rate intensity of the athletic activity; and tag
the athletic activity with an indicator of the heart rate
intensity.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the computer readable
instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to:
determine an individual's subjective assessment of a difficulty of
the athletic activity; and tag the athletic activity with another
indicator specifying the individual's subjective assessment of the
difficulty of the athletic activity.
16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein generating the graph
includes: receiving data from a heart rate sensor for a first type
of athletic activity; receiving data from the heart rate sensor for
a second type of athletic activity; and wherein generating the
graph includes: graphing the data from the heart rate sensor for
the first type of athletic activity and the data from the heart
rate sensor for the second type of athletic activity in the same
graph.
17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein generating the graph
includes: displaying an average heart rate for each of a plurality
of workouts in the graph; and generating and displaying a trendline
for the plurality of workouts using the average heart rate of each
of the plurality of workouts.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates generally to athletic performance monitoring
systems, and more particularly, to such systems that utilize heart
rate information.
BACKGROUND
Exercise and fitness have become increasingly popular and the
benefits from such activities are well known. Various types of
technology have been incorporated into fitness and other athletic
activities. For example, a wide variety of portable electronic
devices are available for use in fitness activities, such as MP3 or
other audio players, radios, portable televisions, DVD players, or
other video playing devices, watches, GPS systems, pedometers,
mobile telephones, pagers, beepers, etc. Many fitness enthusiasts
or athletes use one or more of these devices when exercising or
training to keep them entertained, provide athletic performance
data, to keep them in contact with others, etc.
Advances in technology have also provided more sophisticated
athletic performance monitoring systems. Athletic performance
monitoring systems enable easy and convenient monitoring of many
physical or physiological characteristics associated with exercise
and fitness activity, or other athletic performances including, for
example, speed and distance data, altitude data, GPS data, heart
rate, pulse rate, blood pressure data, body temperature, etc. This
data can be provided to a user through a portable electronic device
carried by the user. For example, one athletic performance
monitoring system may incorporate a wrist worn device that may also
communicate with other devices such as an audio player and/or a
heart rate monitor worn by the user. While athletic performance
monitoring systems according to the prior art provide a number of
advantageous features, they nevertheless have certain limitations.
For example, prior athletic performance monitoring systems have not
utilized heart rate information in a manner that provides more
useful analysis to the user. Aspects of the present disclosure seek
to overcome certain of these limitations and other drawbacks of the
prior art, and to provide new features not heretofore available.
Heart rate may be used to monitor and compare athletic activities
since heart rate is generally considered one of the more accurate
ways to evaluate amount of calories burned and amount of activity
performed.
A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present
invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which
proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF SUMMARY
The following presents a general summary of aspects of the
invention in order to provide a basic understanding of at least
some of its aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of
the invention. It is not intended to identify key or critical
elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the
invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of
the invention in a general form as a prelude to the more detailed
description provided below.
The present invention provides an athletic performance monitoring
system that utilizes heart rate information.
According to at least one aspect of the invention, a user has a
wrist worn device in operable communication with a heart rate
monitor. Heart rate information is conveyed to the user in an
enhanced manner. In addition, in an exemplary embodiment, heart
rate information is capable of being conveyed to the user via a
separate medium, such as a remote website. An athletic performance
monitoring device, such as the wrist worn device, may be configured
to detect and collect information from multiple sensors. For
example, the wrist worn device may collect data from both a heart
rate sensor as well as a shoe based sensor such as an accelerometer
or pedometer. The athletic performance monitoring device may
include a display that indicates whether various sensors have been
detected and provides the user with options to initiate a
workout.
According to another aspect, heart rate and/or pace information may
be visualized by graphing heart rate and pace over distance or
time. In one example, a pace graph may include a pace line with
multiple markers displayed thereon. The markers may be indicative
of particular points in the workout such as distances (every
quarter mile, every mile, etc.) or time (e.g., every 30 minutes,
every hour or the like). Heart rate markers may also be provided to
identify the points in the workout where the athlete reached his
highest heart rate and lowest heart rate. Progress markers and
heart rate markers may be different in appearance to help the user
differentiate between heart rate information and progress
information. The highest heart rate and the lowest heart rate may
be determined from a portion of the workout not including a warm up
period and/or a cool down period. In one or more arrangements,
heart rate markers may also be provided at the beginning and the
end of the workout graph. Other workout information may also be
displayed or visualized including duration information and distance
information.
According to another aspect, an athlete's workout information
collected in an athletic performance monitoring device may be
transmitted to an athletic performance monitoring site or
application situated on a device or server other than the
monitoring device. For example, the collected data may be
transmitted to a third party athletic performance monitoring site
on a remote server where the data may be collected, stored,
visualized and compared with other users of the site. The manner in
which the athlete's workout information is processed may be
specified by the user pre-, during and/or post-workout. For
example, a user may specify whether data is to be recorded,
transmitted and/or visualized.
According to another aspect, a user's workout information including
heart rate and pace may be compared with other users. For example,
a comparison of the user's workout with the average workout of
friends or all other users of an athletic performance monitoring
site may be generated. Such comparisons may provide the user with
motivation to increase their workouts or improve in their
performance.
According to yet another aspect, a visualization of a workout may
be customized to identify portions of a workout in which a user
exhibited a particular range of heart rates. In one example, the
user may adjust upper and lower limit sliders on a slider bar to
define the upper and lower limits for a range of heart rates that
are to be identified in a chart. The portions of the workout
matching the selected heart rate range may be overlaid by a bar or
indicator to visually identify the portions. Additionally or
alternatively, multiple ranges may be identified simultaneously in
a workout graph using different colors, patterns, hues, and the
like. Furthermore, predefined ranges may be displayed for user
selection. These predefined ranges may be a system default or may
be defined based on user preferences or may be configured by a
third party such as a coach. An interface configured to identify
such workout portions may further indicate a percentage of the
workout or an amount of workout time that falls in the specified
range.
According to yet another aspect, an athlete's workouts may be
summarized according to an amount of time or percentage of the
workouts spent in various heart rate ranges. The athlete may
further be allowed to define the heart rate ranges and target
percentages for each heart rate range. An alert may then be created
to alert the athlete whenever his or her workouts are within the
specified target percentages. Some tolerance may be provided for
determining when an athlete has reached a specified target
percentage. For example, if 8% of an athlete's workout is within
the 170-180 bpm heart rate range and the athlete has defined a
target of 10% for that heart rate range, the workout may be
determined to have achieved the goal of 10%.
According to yet another aspect, trendlines may be generated for a
user's workout. For example a heart rate trendline may be generated
to indicate a level of progress made by the user during a workout.
Trendlines for other metrics (e.g., pace, distance, amount of
weight lifted, etc.) may also be generated.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent
from the following specification taken in conjunction with the
following drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
To understand the present invention, it will now be described by
way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a runner wearing a device assembly
used in an athletic performance monitoring system according to one
or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the wearable device assembly shown
in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the wearable device assembly shown
in FIG. 1, with a wristband of the device in an unfastened position
according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the device assembly shown in
FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the device assembly shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a USB-type device of the wearable
device assembly according to one or more aspects described
herein;
FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the device shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the device shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 10 is an end view of the device shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 11 is an opposite end view of the device shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of the device taken along
line 12-12 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the carrier or wristband of the
device assembly of FIG. 3 and having the device of FIG. 6 removed
according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the device assembly of FIG.
3;
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a removable closure used with the
wristband according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the removable
closure shown in FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is a partial perspective view of a runner setting the
device according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 18 is a schematic view of the runner setting the device and a
plan view of the device indicating that the device is ready to
start according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 19 is a schematic view of the runner starting the device and a
plan view of the device indicating time elapsed according to one or
more aspects described herein;
FIG. 20 is a schematic view of the runner and plan view of the
device indicating the device is in a data recording mode according
to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 21 is a schematic view of the runner stopping the device and a
plan view of the device indicating that the device has been stopped
according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 22 is a schematic view of the runner reviewing performance
data and a plan view of the device preparing to indicate miles run
according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 23 is a schematic view of the runner reviewing performance
data and a plan view of the device preparing to indicate miles run
in a week according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 24 is a schematic view of the runner reviewing performance
data and a plan view of the device preparing to indicate total
miles run according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 25 is a schematic view of the runner reviewing performance
data and a plan view of the device preparing to indicate time
according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the runner at a computer and
having the device plugged into the computer according to one or
more aspects described herein;
FIG. 27 is a front view of a computer screen displaying performance
data recorded by the device according to one or more aspects
described herein;
FIG. 28 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a heart rate
monitor assembly with a removable closure assembly according to one
or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 29a is an exploded perspective view of the heart rate monitor
assembly of FIG. 28;
FIGS. 29b and 29c are partial cross-sectional views of the
removable closure assembly of FIG. 28;
FIG. 30 is a partial perspective view of the heart rate monitor
assembly of FIG. 29;
FIG. 31 is a is a front view of a user with the heart rate monitor
assembly of FIG. 29 according to one or more aspects described
herein;
FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating a method by which an athletic
performance monitoring device may collect athletic performance data
from one or more sensors according to one or more aspects described
herein;
FIGS. 33-35 illustrate example user interfaces in which a user's
workout information including heart rate information is visualized
as a distance over time graph according to one or more aspects
described herein;
FIGS. 36 and 37 illustrate example user interfaces in which a
user's pace during a workout is visualized in conjunction with
heart rate information according to one or more aspects described
herein according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIGS. 38 and 39 illustrate example user interfaces displaying a
user's heart rate over time for a workout according to one or more
aspects described herein;
FIGS. 40 and 41 illustrate example user interfaces displaying a
user's heart rate over time including an average heart rate and a
range of heart rates detected according to one or more aspects
described herein;
FIG. 42 illustrates an example user interface in which portions of
a user's workout pace chart is identified based on a selected heart
rate range according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIGS. 43-50 illustrate example user interfaces in which portions of
workout heart rate chart are identified based on a selected heart
rate range according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIGS. 51 and 52 illustrate example user interfaces in which
multiple portions of a workout chart are identified in different
manners depending on a heart rate range corresponding thereto
according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 53 illustrates an example manner in which different units of
measurement may be visually differentiated according to one or more
aspects described herein;
FIGS. 54 and 55 illustrate additional example user interfaces
displaying pace over distance workout information according to one
or more aspects described herein;
FIGS. 56 and 57 illustrate example user interfaces displaying
trends for heart rate and pace information for a workout according
to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 58 illustrates example flowcharts for navigating and
configuring an athletic performance monitoring device according to
one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 59 illustrates an example user interface through which a user
may indicate a heart rate intensity of an athletic activity session
according to one or more aspects described herein;
FIG. 60 illustrates an example user interface for displaying heart
rate data versus distance according to one or more aspects
described herein;
FIGS. 61 and 62 illustrate example user interfaces through which
users may dedicate or label earned reward credits according to one
or more aspects described herein; and
FIG. 63 illustrates an example interface in which a trendline
corresponding to heart rate information and/or other metrics is
displayed for multiple workouts according to one or more aspects
described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following description of various example embodiments of the
invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which
form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration
various example devices, systems, and environments in which aspects
of the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that
other specific arrangements of parts, example devices, systems, and
environments may be utilized and structural and functional
modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the
present invention. Also, while the terms "top," "bottom," "front,"
"back," "side," and the like may be used in this specification to
describe various example features and elements of the invention,
these terms are used herein as a matter of convenience, e.g., based
on the example orientations shown in the figures. Nothing in this
specification should be construed as requiring a specific three
dimensional orientation of structures in order to fall within the
scope of this invention.
General Description of Aspects of the Invention
Aspects of the present disclosure provide an athletic performance
monitoring system and data collection site. The monitoring system
may include wearable devices that are configured to sense and
collect data from one or more sensors including pace detection
sensors and heart rate sensors. The collected data may then be
visualized and displayed in a variety of ways to convey various
types of information to the athlete.
In one or more configurations, an athletic performance monitoring
device may include a USB device having athletic functionality. In
one exemplary embodiment, the USB device is a part of an assembly
having a carrier wherein the USB device is wearable. In addition,
the USB device has a controller that is configured to communicate
athletic performance data. The communication may include any or all
of one of the following: receiving data, displaying data,
transferring data, and recording data. The controller communicates
with a sensor to record and monitor athletic performance as an
overall athletic performance monitoring system. In one or more
configurations, the USB device may comprise a watch or other
wearable electronic information device. Accordingly, the USB device
may provide functionality beyond the transfer and/or display of
athletic performance data. For example, the USB device may display
time, play audio and/or video, provide telecommunication
capabilities and the like. Additionally or alternatively, a USB
device such as a watch may further include short-range and/or long
range wireless communication capabilities including BLUETOOTH and
WI-FI.
The USB device is connected to a carrier that in one exemplary
embodiment is a wristband. The USB device and wristband have a
cooperative structure to removably connect the USB device to the
wristband. In one exemplary embodiment, the USB device has a
protrusion and the wristband has an opening or recess. The
protrusion is inserted into the opening wherein the USB device is
connected to the wristband. The wristband has a removable closure.
The closure has an indicia-bearing plate having posts that
cooperate with openings in the wristband to secure the wristband on
a user. The closure is removable wherein different closures bearing
different indicia can be utilized with the wristband.
The USB device has a housing supporting the controller therein. The
housing has a structural configuration wherein the housing is
water-resistant as well as impact resistant.
The controller utilizes a user interface having certain features to
enhance the functionality of the device. The USB device has a
display wherein performance data can be displayed to the user. The
USB device can be plugged into a computer wherein performance data
can be automatically uploaded to a remote site for further display
and review.
In addition, the carrier can take other forms wherein the USB
device can be worn by a user in a various different locations.
Examples
While aspects of the invention generally have been described above,
the following detailed description, in conjunction with the
Figures, provides even more detailed examples of athletic
performance monitoring systems and methods in accordance with
examples of this invention. Those skilled in the art should
understand, of course, that the following description constitutes
descriptions of examples of the invention and should not be
construed as limiting the invention in any way.
FIG. 1 generally discloses an athletic performance monitoring
system 10 that in one exemplary embodiment of the invention
includes a wearable device having athletic functionality. As shown
in FIG. 1, the athletic performance monitoring system 10 generally
includes a module or sensor 12 and a wearable device assembly 14.
As discussed in greater detail below, the sensor 12 and wearable
device assembly 14 wirelessly communicate with one another to
record and monitor athletic performance.
The sensor 12 may have various electronic components including a
power supply, magnetic sensor element, microprocessor, memory,
transmission system and other suitable electronic devices. The
sensor 12 in one exemplary embodiment is mounted on the shoe of a
user as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively or additionally, sensor 12
may include a heart rate sensor that is worn in other locations of
a user's body. The sensor 12 is used in conjunction with the other
components of the system to record speed and distance among other
parameters of athletic performance such as heart rate. The sensor
12 can be a sensor as disclosed in U.S. Publication Nos.
2007/0006489; 2007/0011919 and 2007/0021269. These U.S.
Publications are incorporated by reference herein and made a part
hereof. In one or more arrangements, multiple sensors may be used
in conjunction with assembly 14.
With reference to FIG. 2, the wearable device assembly 14 generally
includes a wearable device 16 that in one exemplary embodiment is a
USB (Universal Serial Bus) type device 16, and a carrier 18 that in
one exemplary embodiment takes the form of a wristband 18. The
device 16 has many features similar to a USB flash drive, but has
additional functionality as discussed in greater detail below. In
addition, the device 16 is removably connected to the wristband
18.
As depicted in FIGS. 6-12, the wearable device 16 generally
includes a housing 20 and a controller 21 that is contained by the
housing 20. General components and functional capabilities of the
controller 21 will be described in greater detail below. The
housing 20 has a first end 22, a second end 24, a first side 26, a
second side 28, a front side 30, and a back side 31.
As further shown in FIGS. 6-12, the first end 22 includes a
connector 23 that is generally a standard USB connector having
leads 81 or contacts embedded therein. The connector 23 is
integrally molded with the housing 20 as described in greater
detail below. The connector 23 is adapted to connect to a USB hub
of a computer. The front side 30 has a pushbutton 33 that will
cooperate with a first input 32 of the controller 21 for
controlling the wearable device 16 as described in greater detail
below. The first side 26 includes a side opening for accommodating
second pushbutton 37 that cooperates with a second input 34 of the
controller 21 for controlling the wearable device 16. The front
side 30 also accommodates a display 36 of the controller 21. It is
understood that the front side 30 of the housing 20 could have an
opening wherein a screen of the display is positioned therein. It
is also understood that the housing 20 could be formed such that it
has a solid, thin layer wherein the display 36 of the controller 21
is viewable through the thin layer on the front side 30.
As depicted in FIGS. 6-12, the back side 31 of the housing 20, near
the second end 24, has a protrusion 38. The protrusion 38 has a
generally circular cross-section. The protrusion 38 has an enlarged
rounded head and an insert that fits within the interior of the
housing 20 (FIG. 12). As explained in greater detail below, the
protrusion 38 is adapted to be inserted into a receiver or aperture
40 in the carrier 18. As further shown in FIG. 7, the device 16 has
an overall curvature that provides an enhanced fit for a user
wearing the device on the wrist. The curvature provides the
connector 23 extending in a downward direction.
As further shown in FIGS. 6-12, the components of the controller 21
are contained within and supported by the housing 20. The
controller 21 includes various electrical components allowing the
controller 21 and device 16 to act as an interface device wherein
the device 16 can communicate with the sensor 12, record and store
data relating to athletic performance, other time information, as
well as upload performance data to a remote location or site as
described in greater detail below. The controller 21 further
includes the first input 32 and the second input 34. The controller
21 further includes the display 36 that is positioned on the front
side 30 of the housing 20. It is further understood that the
controller 21 is operably connected to the connector 23 of the
housing 20.
As shown in FIGS. 2-4 and 12-14, the carrier 18 is generally in the
form of a wristband 18 having a central portion between a first end
portion and a second end portion. The wristband 18 may include a
first member 18a and second member 18b generally molded or
connected together. The wristband 18 is flexible to fit around a
user's wrist. In one exemplary embodiment, the wristband 18 may be
injected molded of a flexible polymeric material. The wristband 18
has receiving structures for connection to the device 16. The
carrier 18 includes a protective sleeve 60 proximate the central
portion and having an opening 61 for receiving the connector 23 of
the housing 20. The protective sleeve 60 has a generally contoured
surface. As shown in FIG. 13, the sleeve 60 may have internal
structure for assisting in securing the connector 23, such as
ridges 63 that provide an interference type fit between the sleeve
60 and the connector 23. A recess 65 is also defined between the
ridges 63 providing a gap between the connector 23 and a bottom
portion of the sleeve 60. A vent 67 is provided through a bottom
portion of the wristband 18 and is in communication with recess 65
proximate the connector 23 when inserted into the wristband 18. The
vent 67 allows any moisture to escape from the wristband 18 and be
channeled away from the connector 23. Also at the central portion,
the carrier 18 has an aperture 40 dimensioned to receive the
protrusion 38 of the wearable device 16. As further shown in FIGS.
3 and 4, the first end portion has a pair of holes 17 (FIG. 13) to
accommodate a removable closure as described in greater detail
below. The second end portion has a plurality of holes 19 to
cooperate with the removable closure as further described below for
securing the wristband 18 to a wrist of a user (FIG. 2).
As further shown in FIGS. 4 and 13-16, the wristband 18 has a
removable closure 70 used to fasten the wristband 18 to a wrist of
a user. To this end, the removable closure 70 cooperates with the
plurality of holes in the wristband 18. The removable closure 70
has a plate member 72 and a plurality of posts 74 extending
generally in a perpendicular direction from the plate member 72. In
the exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 15, the plate member 72
has two posts 74. Each post 74 has an insert 76 that is pressed on
or snap-fitted onto the post 74. Each insert 76 may be spot welded
to the plate member 72. Each insert 76 may be rounded in order to
provide a comfortable fit against a user's wrist. Other connection
methods are possible. A gap is maintained between an inside surface
of the plate member 72 and a bottom surface of the post 74. In
addition, each post 74 has an annular channel 78 around a periphery
of the post 74.
To wear the wristband, first the removable closure 70 is connected
to the first end portion of the wristband strap 18 wherein the pair
of holes 17 is provided to receive the posts 74. The wristband 18
fills the gap. It is further understood that the recessed area 71
in the wristband 18 is dimensioned according to the size of the
plate member 72 wherein the plate member 72 fits snugly within the
recessed area 71. The wristband 18 is positioned around the user's
wrist and the posts 74 are inserted into the holes 19 provided on
the second end portion of the wristband 18 as can be appreciated
from FIG. 2. The portion of the wristband 18 proximate the holes 19
fits within the annular channels 78 of the posts 74. After the
posts 74 are inserted into the pair of holes 17 of the first end
portion of the wristband 18 and the plurality of holes 19 of the
second end portion of the wristband 18, the first end portion and
second end portion of the wristband overlap one another. With the
use of a pair of posts 74, the removable closure 70 allows for a
secure connection and greater flexibility in connection providing
for a greater adjustment to accommodate for a range of wrist
sizes.
Additionally, the plate member 72 can have indicia 73 thereon. The
plate member 72, when attached to the wristband 18 faces away from
the wristband 18 wherein the indicia 73 can be viewed by others.
Because the removable closure 70 is easily removable, the closure
70 can be used as a memento, different closures can be provided and
used with the wristband 18. Thus, removable closures 70 having
different indicia can be provided and used as a keepsake, memento,
or a reward for accomplishing a goal, participating in a race, or
otherwise achieving a certain level of fitness. Indicia can take
various forms including wording, graphics, color schemes, textures,
or other designs etc.
As discussed, the wearable device 16 is removably connected to the
carrier 18. The connector 23 is inserted into the sleeve 60 of the
carrier 18, and the protrusion 38 is placed into the aperture 40 of
the carrier 18. The protrusion 38 may extend perpendicularly from
the central portion of the carrier 18. The enlarged head of the
protrusion abuts against the wristband 18 to retain the device 16
onto the wristband 18. This provides for a wearable device 16 that
can be disconnected from the carrier 18 when desired and plugged
into a computer as discussed in greater detail below. It is
understood that detent structures can be provided between the
connector 23 and sleeve 60 of the various different embodiments
disclosed herein.
It is understood that the device 16 has general functions such as
keeping the time of day just like a conventional watch device. It
is further understood, however, that the device 16 has athletic
functionality and can be used as part of the athletic performance
monitoring system 10. For example, a user wearing shoes having the
sensor 12 mounted therein can use the device 16 to wirelessly
communicate with the sensor 12 and monitor performance such as for
running.
As can be appreciated from FIGS. 17-27, when the user wants to
start a run, the user must first allow the sensor 12 to communicate
with the wearable device 16. It is understood that the device 16
may first be calibrated for the user. To start a run, the user
pushes and holds the first input 32 via the pushbutton 33 on the
front side 30 of the housing 20. While the user holds the first
input 32, the display 36 exhibits scrolling zeros as the wearable
device 16 searches for the sensor 12. Once the sensor 12 is
located, as shown in FIG. 18, the display 36 indicates that the
wearable device 16 is ready to start by displaying a shoe symbol 62
in the upper left corner and a blinking underline 64. The user then
pushes the first input 32 again to initiate the recording of the
run. The wearable device 16 then records various information during
the run such as elapsed time as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20. A bottom
line on the display 36 animates back and forth to indicate that the
device 16 is in the record mode. During the run, the user can
toggle through the distance run, current pace, elapsed time, and
calories spent by pushing the second input 34 via second pushbutton
37. To stop recording, the user pushes the first input 32. After
the device 16 is stopped, the user can review the last distance run
(FIG. 22), average pace, calories burned, average calories burnt
per minute, miles ran per week (FIG. 23), total miles (FIG. 24),
and the time of day of the run (FIG. 25) by pressing the second
input 34, which toggles through these values.
The device 16 has additional capability for uploading of the
recorded data to other remote locations such as locally on a
personal computer or a remote website for further display, review
and monitoring. To this end, it is understood that the controller
21 of the device has an appropriate user interface wherein a user
can download appropriate software via a computer from a remote
location. The device 16 is removed from the carrier 18 wherein the
protrusion 38 is removed from the aperture 40 and the connector 23
is removed from the sleeve 60. As shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, the
connector 23 is then plugged into the standard USB hub/port on a
computer C. Once the appropriate software is installed, the
application will commence with device 16 still being plugged into
the computer. The software application may prompt the user through
a device set-up procedure (time, calibration etc.). At this point,
if desired, the user can upload the performance data from the run
to a remote website location such as one dedicated to monitoring
athletic performance. The user can log onto the particular website
via a standard web-browser and upload the performance data from the
device 16 to the website. As shown in FIG. 27, the user can then
review data relating to the run. The website may display the data
in graphical form. Other features can also be provided to assist
the user in utilizing the data recorded by the device. Additional
registration features can be provided with the website wherein
additional features can be provided to the user for use with the
device 16.
The user interface associated with the controller 21 of the device
16 can provide additional functionality to the user. The software
can include a self launching feature, which automatically launches
the software once the wearable device 16 is connected to a computer
containing the software. Once the program is launched, the software
will also automatically download the data from the device 16 to the
computer and transfer the data to a web server and to the website
discussed above. The software can also detect the device class
connected to the port and configure the correct application for
that specific device. For example, there may be wearable devices 16
having different configurations, or technical capabilities, and
thus may be classified differently. The software can change the
feature set of the fitness activity recording of the wearable
device 16 connected to the port of the computer. After the wearable
device 16 is disconnected from the computer, the software
automatically exits. The user interface may also be configured to
allow a user to selectively activate and de-activate features
according to the preferences of the user. The user may also be able
to modify software associated with the device.
The software has an extremely simple calibration method and user
interface. For example, it is very simple to calibrate distance
measurements onto the device. The software can also track
motivational information among several classes of fitness activity
recording devices. For example, the user can set weekly goals and
the software can track the user's progress with these goals. The
user can also use multiple devices, such as an audio player having
a suitable interface device, other types of sport watches etc.,
along with the device of the present invention, and the software
will accumulate the weekly and overall total distance recorded by
all of the devices. Thus, the data is kept synchronized over
multiple devices.
The website can additionally have a guest log in, which allows the
user to upload data automatically from the device without requiring
the user to register. This feature allows the user to use the
website without giving personal information. Later, if the user
decides to register the device, a unique PIN number associated with
each wearable device is matched up with registration information
automatically.
According to one or more arrangements, a sensor configured to
communicate data to a wearable device assembly (e.g., assembly 14
of FIG. 1) may be used to monitor a user's heart rate. For example,
a sensor may be used to determine a user's heart rate (beats per
minute) during performance of an athletic activity such as running,
using an elliptical, walking and the like. FIGS. 28-31 illustrate a
removable closure for a heart rate monitor assembly 780. The heart
rate monitor assembly 780 has a chest strap 718 and a transmitter
portion 782. The chest strap 718 has a first end 720 and a second
end 722, while the transmitter portion 782 also has a first end 724
and a second end 726. The transmitter portion 782 has at least two
removable closures 770 which are used to fasten the chest strap 781
to the transmitter portion 782. The removable closure 770 is
generally similar in structure to the removable closure 70
described above and shown in FIGS. 4 and 15. One removable closure
770 is attached to the first end 724 of the transmitter portion 782
and one removable closure 770 is attached to the second end 726 of
the transmitter portion 782. To this end, the removable closures
770 cooperate with a plurality of holes on the first end 720 and
the second end 722 of the chest strap 781.
As discussed, the removable closure 770 used with the heart rate
monitor assembly may be very similar to the removable closure 70 as
depicted in FIGS. 4 and 15. The removable closure 770 may have a
plate member 72 and a plurality of posts 74 extending generally in
a perpendicular direction from the plate member 72. As is depicted
in FIGS. 15, 16, the plate member 72 has two posts 74. Each post 74
has an insert 76 that is pressed on or snap fitted onto the post
74. Each insert 76 is spot welded to the plate member 72. Other
connection methods are possible. A gap is maintained between an
inside surface of the plate member 72 and a bottom surface of the
post 74. In addition, each post 74 has an annular channel 78 around
a periphery of the post 74.
To wear the heart rate monitor assembly 780, as depicted in FIG.
30, first the first removable closure 770 is connected to the first
end 724 of the transmitter portion 782 wherein a pair of holes is
provided to receive the posts 74. Next, the first removable closure
770 is connected to the first end 720 of the chest strap 781 by
inserting the posts 74 into the holes provided on the first end 720
of the chest strap 781. The chest strap 781 is then positioned
around the user's chest. Next, in order to fasten the heart rate
monitor assembly 780 around the user's chest, the second removable
closure 770 is connected to the second end 726 of the transmitter
portion 782 wherein a pair of holes is provided to receive the
posts 74. Next, the second removable closure 770 is connected to
the second end 722 of the chest strap 781 by inserting the posts 74
into the holes provided on the second end 722 of the chest strap
781. With the use of the pair of posts 74, the removable closure
770 allows for a secure connection and greater flexibility in
connection providing for a greater adjustment to accommodate for a
range of chest sizes.
As discussed earlier, the plate member 72 of the removable closure
770 can have indicia 73 thereon. The plate member 72, when attached
to the chest strap 781 and transmitter portion 782, faces away from
the chest strap 781, wherein the indicia 73 can be viewed by
others. Because the removable closure 770 is easily removable, the
closure 770 can be used as a memento and different closures can be
provided and used with the heart rate monitor assembly 780. Thus,
removable closures having different indicia can be provided and
used as a keepsake, memento, or reward for accomplishing a goal,
participating in a race, or otherwise achieving a certain level of
fitness. Indicia can take various forms including wording,
graphics, color schemes, textures, or other designs, etc. Also, as
a pair of removable closures 770 is utilized in one exemplary
embodiment, the indicia included on each removable closure 770 can
provide for an overall unitary message as desired.
Heart rate monitor assembly 780, in one or more configurations, may
be operably connected to a monitoring device assembly such as
assembly 14 and wearable device 16 (FIG. 1) and/or one or more
other sensors such as shoe-based sensor 12 (FIG. 1). For example,
heart rate monitor assembly 780 may be configured to wirelessly
communicate with wearable device 16 to communicate heart rate data.
According to one or more aspects, heart rate monitor assembly 780
may receive data from shoe sensor 12 (FIG. 1) and forward the
information to another device like wearable device 16 (FIG. 1).
Alternatively or additionally, heart rate monitor assembly 780 may
be configured to store and/or display athletic performance data
including heart rate information and data determined by sensor 12
(FIG. 1).
FIG. 32 illustrates a method by which an athletic performance
monitoring device such as wearable device 16 of FIG. 1 may monitor
athletic performance of an athlete by collecting athletic
performance data from one or more sensors. In step 3200, the
monitoring device may receive user input initiating a workout. The
user input may include a selection of a type of activity (e.g.,
running, walking) and a duration. The user input may further
include a selection of a music playlist to use during the workout.
In step 3205, the device may detect sensor devices that are
compatible with the device. For example, the device may detect
whether one or more registered BLUETOOTH, infrared and/or WI-FI
sensors are within range and determine a type of data (e.g., heart
rate, speed, steps, etc.) provided by the sensors. In step 3210,
the monitoring device may receive input corresponding to a
selection of one or more types of performance data to monitor. For
example, a user may ask that heart rate information be monitored
but not pace. In another example, a user may request monitoring of
both heart rate and pace information. In yet another example, a
user may specify that only pace information is to be monitored. In
still another example, a user may request that only heart rate be
monitored. In some instances, different selections of performance
data types may be made for different actions. Thus, a user may
select a first set of one or more performance data types for a
first action while selecting another set of one or more performance
data types for a second action. For example, a user may select pace
and heart rate for storage but only heart rate for display. In
another example, a user may select pace and heart rate for
recording/storage but only heart rate or only pace or both for
uploading to a remote athletic activity monitoring site.
Accordingly, upon initiating an upload from a monitoring device to
a remote performance monitoring site/server, the device or system
may determine whether each of the stored types of performance data
was selected for uploading. In some instances, the system or device
might only upload those types of performance data that were
selected for uploading.
Selections may be made from a menu that displays the types of
athletic performance data that may be monitored. This menu may be
generated based on the detected sensors that are available. In step
3215, the monitoring device may receive configuration information
for a rate at which to poll for the requested sensor data. The rate
may be specified per second, per minute, per hour and the like. In
one or more arrangements, the rate for a first sensor (e.g., heart
rate) may be different from a rate for a second sensor (e.g., a
pedometer). In step 3220, the device may receive a command to
initiate the workout. In response, the device may subsequently
begin polling the various sensor devices for the athletic
performance data at the specified rates in step 3225.
The collected athletic performance data may be displayed as it is
received in step 3230 so that a user may monitor his or her
performance during the workout. Additionally or alternatively, the
device may transmit the performance data to another device such as
a personal computer after the workout in step 3235. For example, a
user may connect the wearable device using wired or wireless
adapters to transmit the data.
Athletic performance data may be displayed to a user as part of an
athletic performance visualization. For example, data regarding the
user's pace and heart rate during a run may be used to generate a
graph to show a user's trend during the activity. The visualization
might only display information that was selected for uploading or
for visualization. For example, as noted above, users may select
different performance data types for different purposes.
Accordingly, a user may select to record pace, heart rate, time and
distance, but select only heart rate and time for visualization.
The determination of what information types to upload and/or use in
a visualization may be made by the wearable monitoring device, a
user's computing device and/or a remote performance monitoring
system.
By using a heart rate monitor and allowing users to visualize
athletic performance as a function of heart rate in addition to or
instead of metrics that are specific to one or more athletic
activities (e.g., distance, pace, etc.), a user may monitor and
track virtually all forms of athletic activity. Accordingly, users
may track and monitor activities such as yoga, lifting weights,
aerobics, and the like using heart rate as a metric. Heart rate
monitors, as discussed herein, may be used with a plurality of
monitoring systems and devices and may independently store and/or
upload data to a remote athletic performance monitoring site and/or
system. For example, heart rate monitors may include an integrated
wireless communication system.
Visualizations and workout information processing may be performed
in one or more arrangements by a third party athletic performance
data collection and tracking system. For example, upon an athletic
performance monitoring device capturing the performance data, the
device may upload the performance data to a collection and tracking
system. The collection and tracking system may reside on a remote
server and be accessible to a variety of users. In one
configuration, the collection and tracking system may comprise a
network server operating a web site through which users may upload
athletic performance data, analyze their workouts, compare their
workout performance with other users, share their workout data and
the like. In some arrangements, users may also select whether a
particular workout session, day of workout session or other
predefined period of workouts are to be visualized, stored,
uploaded and the like. For example, before beginning a run, a user
may indicate whether the workout is to be uploaded, stored and/or
used in visualization. In other examples, the user may make such
elections or selections during a workout or after the workout.
Thus, if a user does not believe the current run is representative
of a good effort, the user may modify the uploading, visualization
or recordation options for one or more sensed parameters (e.g.,
heart rate, pace, distance, etc.). Again, visualization, uploading
and recordation for each sensed parameter may be modified and set
separately from the others.
FIG. 33 illustrates an example user interface 3300 in which
athletic performance data may be visualized and reviewed. Each
workout or day of workout may be represented by entries 3303. A
workout entry may include a single workout or may include all
workouts for a predefined time period (e.g., a day). Thus, user
interface 3300 may display multiple workout entries 3303
simultaneously in, for example, a bar graph. That is, each bar 3303
may represent a different workout or day of workouts or other
predefined time period of workout sessions. The appearance of
entries 3303 may vary depending on the types of data recorded for
that workout or day or workout. For example, entry 3303a may be
represented by a bar with a heart to indicate that both run data
(e.g., pace or distance information) and heart rate information was
recorded for that workout. In another example, entry 3303b might
include a bar with no heart, indicating that run/pace information
is available for the workout while heart rate information is not.
In yet another example, entry 3303c may include a heart with no bar
to indicate that heart rate information is available but that
distance/pace information was not record or not uploaded to the
system. Alternatively, if heart rate information is available or
was recorded, the heart may be displayed upon a user hovering over
the corresponding workout entry (e.g., workout entry 3303b) instead
of the heart or other icon being persistent in the display. Once a
user is no longer hovering over or otherwise interacting with the
workout entry, the heart may disappear or be removed. Other types
of indicators may be used including different fill colors for the
bars, different fill patterns, different transparencies and the
like.
In some arrangements, indicators may also be used to identify the
type of activity corresponding to the athletic activity data.
Accordingly, a basketball icon may be displayed in a bar or other
portion of the graph to indicate the user was playing basketball
while a pool icon may be displayed for swimming activities. By
tracking the type of activity contributing to the athletic activity
data, different types of coaching and/or thresholds may be used in
judging the user's performance. In one particular example, a color
of the athletic activity bar or segment of a line graph may be
selected based on how well the user performed. For example, if a
user exceeded a first distance or pace threshold for a running
activity, the corresponding bar or portion of a line graph may be
displayed in a first appearance (e.g., green), while if the user
was below another threshold, the corresponding bar or portion of a
line graph may be displayed in a second appearance (e.g., yellow or
red). The various thresholds may be selected based on the indicated
type of activity. Thus, different activities (e.g., weight lifting,
basketball, swimming, running, soccer, etc.) may have different
thresholds (e.g., heart rate, pace, distance, etc.). For example,
heart rates during weight lifting may be generally lower than heart
rates during running or basketball. Accordingly, lower heart rate
thresholds may be set for weight lifting than for running or
basketball. Thus, the indication (e.g., visualization using color
or patterns of the data representations) of whether the user is
excelling or underachieving may be relative to the particular
activity.
According to one or more aspects, the user may filter the
visualization based on type of workout. For example, the user may
filter the visualization down to heart rate workouts (irrespective
of whether run data is available), heart rate-only workouts, run
workouts (irrespective of whether heart rate data was recorded),
run-only workouts, run and heart rate workouts and the like.
Hovering over one or more of entries 3303 may also cause the
interface to generate and display a pop-up window 3305 with
detailed workout information. The workout information displayed in
window 3305 may include a time of the workout, a type of workout, a
machine used during the workout, a total distance, a duration, a
pace (e.g., minutes/mile, miles/hour, etc.), an average heart rate,
a number of calories burned and the like. User interface 3300 may
further include a workout summary bar 3307 that is configured to
display a total number of workouts, a total distance, and/or a
total number of calories burned or an equivalent thereof for a
specified period of time. In one or more arrangements, the
specified period of time may correspond to the time period shown or
may correspond to a time period encompassing all workouts stored.
Additionally or alternatively, a calories burned equivalent may
include cardiovascular miles which may be defined as a unit
equaling 100 calories burned. Thus, 3,000 calories burned may be
equivalent to and converted into 30 cardiovascular miles. This unit
may be used to provide a universal basis of comparison between
different types of activities such as swimming and weightlifting,
running and yoga and the like. Bars in a bar graph that represent
cardiovascular miles versus calories burned may appear
differently.
FIG. 33 illustrates an example cardiovascular mile bar graph 3301
(with and without heart rate information) and example mile bars
3303 (with and without heart rate information). According to one or
more aspects, hovering over different parts of the graph may
display different additional details of the workout. For example,
if a user hovers over or otherwise interacts with heart displayed
in bar 3303b, additional details relating to the user's heart rate
or cardiovascular performance such as a range of heart rates
detected, a max and min heart rate, average heart rate and the like
may be displayed in pop-up window (similar to window 3305). In
another example, a user hovering over only the bar graph portion
(without hovering over the heart indicator of bar 3303b) may cause
pop-up window 3305 to display more run related metrics including
distance, pace and/or time.
FIGS. 34 and 35 illustrate alternative embodiments of a user
interface for displaying workout entries. In addition to entries
3403, interface 3400 of FIG. 34 may include an option bar 3405 for
changing the graph or display type. That is, option bar 3405 may
allow a user to switch between a graph of time vs. distance, time
vs. calories, time vs. duration and time vs. heart rate.
Furthermore, interface 3400 may include a note indicator 3407 that
identifies entries for which a comment is associated. Hovering over
or otherwise interacting with indicator 3407 (e.g., clicking) may
cause interface 3400 to display the comment or note. The user may
enter notes to record a workout regimen for that day, how the user
felt during the workout, information about a running path, athletic
equipment used during the workout and the like.
Interface 3400 may further display trend information that allows a
user to determine a degree of progression or regression in their
performance over a specified amount of time. For example, trend
information 3409 indicates that the user's number of miles run has
decreased by 20% in the past 6 months. The trend information may be
calculated or determined based on a predefined time period set by
the user. For example, the user may configure the interface 3400 to
display the user's performance trend for a previous year, the past
week, past 2 weeks, past month, past 3 months and the like. Trend
information 3409 may also be configured to identify trends for
different types of performance information such as pace and heart
rate. Furthermore, interface 3400 may display a comparison 3411 of
performance data that shows the user's activity as compared to
others including friends and the general public. This information
may be retrieved from a database or requested from devices
associated with each of the other users.
Users may choose to set a goal for increasing an aspect of their
athletic performance, such as pace, by setting an alert using goal
setting tool 3413. Tool 3413 allows a user to set a goal and to
alert themselves (e.g., through an athletic monitoring device) when
the set goal is reached. For example, the goal may correspond to an
average number of miles run per workout or over a predefined period
of time. Thus, if a user is currently running about 2 miles per
workout, the user may set a goal and alert for running 2.5 miles
per workout. Upon reaching the goal, the user may receive a
notification such as a text message, an e-mail, a message on an
athletic performance monitoring device and the like. Interface 3400
may automatically identify zones of improvement that may be
considered to require moderate additional effort (e.g., past
average zone 3415) or significant additional effort (e.g., push
yourself zone 3417). In one example, workout data may be
automatically uploaded to the performance monitoring site and
system during or after a user's workout. Accordingly, a user might
not always check the site to review the workout session in relation
to preset goals or past activities. Thus, the performance
monitoring site may transmit a text message or email or automated
voice call in order to alert the user of the achievement. In some
arrangements, the performance monitoring site might also post a
message on a user's social networking site or issue a broadcast
message through services such as TWITTER.
In FIG. 35, interface 3500 may display information and features
similar to those described with respect to interface 3400 of FIG.
34. Interface 3500 may further include a reminder tool 3503 that
allows users to add a reminder for performing an athletic activity
such as running a specified number of times per week (or other time
period). Users may also adjust what the main component of the graph
(e.g., the bars) represents. For example, a user may wish to view
calories as the bars in the graph or heart rate. In such instances,
other types of indicators (not shown) may be used to indicate
whether the other metrics were recorded and stored for those
workouts. For example, a road icon may be displayed with one or
more bars to indicate that distance information is available for
that workout. Calories may be represented by a food item while
duration may be represented by a clock.
FIGS. 36 and 37 illustrate user interfaces in which a user's
workout is displayed as a graph of pace over distance. Graph 3601
of FIG. 36 includes multiple indicators 3603 identifying predefined
times or distances of the workout. For example, indicators 3603 may
correspond to mile markers or hourly markers. Alternatively or
additionally, markers 3603 may be used to identify an amount of
progress toward a goal. Thus, markers 3603 may be placed at
positions on graph 3601 that correspond to 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and
100% of the goal distance. Furthermore, graph 3601 may include
heart rate markers 3605 that identify the points in the workout
where an athlete reached his or her highest and lowest heart rates.
For example, marker 3605a may correspond to the athlete's highest
heart rate during the workout and marker 3605b may correspond to
the athlete's lowest heart rate. Additional heart rate markers may
also be included in graph 3601 depending on the preferences of the
user. In one or more arrangements, the highest and lowest heart
rates might only be selected from a portion of a workout after a
warm-up period or other predefined amount of initial workout time.
For example, interface 3600 might only identify the highest and
lowest heart rates after the first 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes,
5 minutes of the workout. Alternatively or additionally, interface
3600 might ignore a predefined amount of time at the end of the
workout. Ignoring these portions of the workout in determining
highest and lowest heart rates may help eliminate artificially low
or high heart rates due to cool down, initial warm-up and the like.
According to one or more aspects, the highest and lowest heart
rates may be determined by identifying the highest and lowest
average heart rates, respectively, for a predefined period of time
(e.g., 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds,
etc.). In one example, the determined heart rate for time 1 minute
and 30 seconds may correspond to an average of the heart rates
between 1 minute and 20 seconds and 1 minute and 40 seconds.
Hovering over each of markers 3603 and 3605 may provide detailed
information similar to the detailed information displayed in window
3305 of FIG. 33. Alternatively or additionally, detailed
information may be displayed in a pop-up window for one or more
markers 3603 and 3605 without having to hover over or otherwise
interact with marker 3603 and/or 3605. Hovering or otherwise
interacting with other portions of graph 3601 may also provide
additional information about a particular portion of graph 3601.
According to one or more aspects, a user may set low and high
thresholds for his or her heart rate. Accordingly, indicators 3605a
and 3605b may correspond to the points in the workouts where the
user crossed above or below those thresholds. For example, a user
may set a high heart rate threshold at 150 bpm. Accordingly, graph
3601 may display heart 3605b at the point where the user first
crosses the 150 bpm threshold. An indicator such as heart 3605b may
be displayed at each point along graph 3601 where the user crossed
above or met the threshold. Similarly, an indicator may be
displayed along graph 3601 where a user crossed below or met a
lower or minimum threshold to help the user recognize where he or
she exhibited a weaker performance in terms of heart rate.
View option 3607 allows a user to switch between the different
types of graphs. For example, upon selecting heart rate in option
3607, the graph may instead display distance vs. heart rate (rather
than distance vs. pace). Along with markers 3603 and 3605, graph
3601 may include a summary 3609 of the total distance run. In one
or more arrangements, as illustrated in FIG. 37, an interface such
as interface 3700 may include average heart rate information bar
3701.
Referring again to FIG. 36, interface 3600 may further include a
heart rate range option 3611 that may be used to activate a heart
rate range selector as will be discussed in further detail below
with respect to FIGS. 42-48.
As noted herein, workout data may be displayed in either pace form
or heart rate format. FIGS. 38-41 illustrate various example heart
rate graphs that provide a visualization of a user's heart rate
over a workout period. Heart rate may be expressed as the number of
beat per minute (bpm). In FIG. 38, graph 3800 may include heart
rate markers 3803 that identify predefined positions in the
workout. For example, markers 3803 may be placed at every hour or
other predefined amount of time, every 25% or other percentage of
the workout (either based on time or distance), at every mile or
other specified distance and/or combinations thereof. Total workout
time 3805 may be displayed at the end of the graph along with the
average heart rate 3807. FIG. 39 illustrates another example heart
rate graph 3900 where heart rate markers 3903 may be placed at the
beginning and end of the workout as well at the points in time
where the athlete reached his highest and lowest heart rates.
FIG. 40 illustrates a heart rate graph 4000 for multiple workouts.
Since each workout may include multiple heart rate readings, heart
rate graph 4000 may be configured to chart the average heart rate
for each workout against time. However, the range of heart rates
for each workout may also be represented and visualized in graph
4000 by the colored or grayed region 4003. In one arrangement, a
user's average heart rate may be displayed along the graphed line
while the range may be represented by a region having an appearance
(e.g., color, pattern, transparency) different from the graphed
line. Heart rate markers 4005 may be placed along the top edge of
the grayed or colored region 4003 to identify the highest heart
rate an athlete reached during that particular workout or day of
workouts. Hovering over or otherwise interacting with markers 4005
may cause a pop-up window 4007 to be displayed. Pop-up window 4007
may include information such as the number of miles run for that
workout, the average pace and the average heart rate. Additionally
or alternatively, hovering within region 4003 may display a
corresponding heart rate and amount of time the user exhibited that
particular heart rate during that particular workout session, day
or other time period. In one particular example, if a user hovers
over the "T 17" workout day and around the 125 bpm mark, the
interface may display an amount of time the user exhibited a 125
bpm (or a predefined range around 125 bpm such as 10% above and
below, 5 bpm above and below and the like) during that workout day.
In addition or alternatively to an amount of time the user
exhibited a particular heart rate, the interface may display a
distance or other amount of exercise performed at that heart
rate.
FIG. 41 illustrates another example of a heart rate graph for heart
rate information over multiple workouts. Interface 4100 may include
a heart zone management tool 4103 that provides the user with the
option of setting alerts when the user's workout meets a predefined
heart rate profile. A heart rate profile may include a
specification of the amount of a workout that should fall within
each of multiple heart rate ranges. In the illustration of FIG. 41,
the profile specifies that the user's workout is to be 35% in the
78 to 98 bpm range, 30% in the 99 to 117 bpm range, 25% in the 118
to 137 bpm range and 10% in the 138 to 175 bpm range. If the user
approaches these ranges, an alert may be sent to the user notifying
the user of the same. A certain level of tolerance may be provided
so that a user does not have to exactly match the heart rate
profile. For example, if the user exhibits a heart rate between 138
to 175 bpm during 8% of his or her workout, the user may be
determined to have matched at least the 138 to 175 bpm portion of
the heart rate profile.
FIGS. 42-48 illustrate example interfaces wherein portions of a
workout graph is highlighted based on a selected heart rate range.
For example, FIG. 42 illustrates a pace graph in which various
ranges or zones 4203 are highlighted, superimposed or overlaid. The
interface 4200 further includes a heart rate range control bar 4201
that allows a user to select a particular range of heart rates
using low end slider 4205a and high end slider 4205b. Ranges or
zones 4203 may then be generated and overlaid over the portions of
the workout where a user exhibited a heart range in the selected
range. The generation and modification of zones 4203 may be
performed in real-time as the user is modifying or selecting a
desired heart rate range. For example, in control bar 4201, the
user may select a heart rate range of 122-142 bpm. Accordingly,
ranges 4203 represent the portions of the workout in which the user
exhibited a heart rate in the range of 122-142 bpm. Interface 4200
may further include an information portion 4207 that displays the
amount or percentage of time the user exhibited that range of heart
rates (e.g., 14 minutes and 25 seconds and 32%). In one or more
arrangements, instead of displaying highlighting bars 4203, the
interface may modify the appearance of the relevant segments of the
line graph in which the user exhibited the selected range of heart
rates. For example, the matching portions of the line graph may be
displayed in another color, with a different pattern and/or the
like.
FIG. 43 illustrates an interface 4300 in which a heart rate graph
4301 is overlaid by a heart rate range 4303. Interface 4300 may
include (similar to interface 4200 of FIG. 42) a heart rate range
control bar 4305 that allows a user to select a desired heart rate
range to highlight. Option 4311 further allows a user to hide heart
rate range control bar 4305. In one or more arrangements, hovering
over or otherwise interacting with heart rate control bar 4305 for
a predefined amount of time causes one or more portions (e.g., the
upper or lower limit markers) to change in appearance to indicate
that the bar 4305 is editable or modifiable. For example, upper
limit 4313 may be enclosed in an edit box 4315 to indicate that it
may be modified. According to one or more aspects, the heart range
control bar 4305 may automatically default to an average heart rate
of the workout with upper and lower limits being + and -10 bpm,
respectively, from the average. Additionally or alternatively,
interface 4300 may be characterized by a heart rate icon 4307 that
provides an indication of the type of graph shown. Hovering over,
selecting, clicking or otherwise interacting with icon 4307 may
cause additional information such as an average heart rate 4309 to
be displayed.
According to another aspect, upon selecting a heart rate range,
various heart rate indicators may be modified based upon the
selected range. For example, high heart rate and low heart rate
indicators may be modified to reflect the locations along the line
graph where the user exhibited the high heart rate and low heart
rate within the selected range. In another example, the location of
an indicator identifying the location where the user's heart rate
exhibited the greatest change may be modified to reflect the
greatest change within the selected heart rate range.
FIGS. 44-46 illustrate further example interfaces displaying heart
rate information for a workout and identifying portions of a
workout corresponding to a particular heart rate range. In FIG. 45,
in contrast to the heart rate range control bars 4203 (FIG. 42) and
4305 (FIG. 43), heart rate range control bar 4503 may be displayed
along and integrated with the y-axis of graph 4501 of interface
4500. Such a configuration may allow a user to directly correlate
the position of the upper and lower limits of the specified heart
rate range with the various portions of graph 4501. In FIG. 46,
interface 4600 may further display a percentage of the workout that
corresponding to the selected heart rate range. For example, in
interface 4600, 90% of the workout is included in the 110-165 bpm
heart rate range.
FIGS. 47 and 48 illustrate other example interfaces that are
configured to identify portions of a user's workout that correspond
to a particular heart rate range. Interface 4700 may include
further information including a highest heart beat rate 4703, a
comparison 4705 of the user's highest heart rate to that of the
user's friends and a comparison 4707 of the user's heart rate to
that of the others. Interface 4700 may further include options 4709
that allow the user to indicate the user's feeling about the
workout (4709a), the weather associated with the workout (4709b)
and a type of workout terrain (4709c). Other words, phrases, images
and the like may be used to tag the workout using tagging option
4711. Tagging may allow a user to more easily find workout entries
by searching for the words or phases with which the entries have
been tagged. Additional tagging options are discussed below with
respect to FIG. 59.
FIGS. 49 and 50 illustrate example interfaces in which the heart
rate range control bar 4903 is provided as a drop down menu upon
selection of heart rate control option 4907. When exposed, the
heart rate range control bar 4903 may overlay a portion of graph
4901. Heart rate range control bar 4903 may include multiple
predefined range selectors 4909 that allows a user to identify
predefined ranges on graph 4901. The predefined ranges, in one or
more example, may include up to 120, 121-140, 141-160, 161-180 and
181 and over. Thus, selecting one of selectors 4909 may
automatically modify and/or define the range to the predefined
range corresponding to the selector. Alternatively or additionally,
the user may choose to create a custom heart rate range using
sliders 4911a and 4911b. Each selected range may be identified
using a different pattern, color, hue and/or combinations thereof.
In one or more arrangements, interface 4900 might only allow the
user to select and view one range at a time. In one or more
examples, the user may choose and display multiple heart rate
ranges simultaneously using different appearance characteristics
such as color, pattern, transparency, brightness, hue, tone, flash
and the like.
FIGS. 51 and 52 illustrate graphs of heart rate workouts in which
multiple heart rate ranges are identified using different colors
simultaneously in the interface. Range information may be displayed
upon hovering over or otherwise interacting with one of the
identified zones as illustrated in the example interface of FIG.
51.
In FIG. 52, for example, a legend 5203 is provided at the bottom of
graph 5201 to indicate the colors representing each of the ranges
and to allow a user to control which ranges are selected and
displayed. In interface 5200, ranges 5205a and 5205b are selected
for identification in graph 5201. The selection buttons 5207a and
52076 corresponding to ranges 5205a and 5205b, respectively, are
provided in different colors corresponding to the colors used to
identify the portions of the user's workout corresponding to those
ranges. The predefined ranges 5205 may be predefined based on a
default configuration, based on a coach or third party input, based
on a user's preferred configuration or setting or the like. For
example, a user may define preferences to indicate a set of
preferred ranges. Upon accessing a visualization of a workout, the
user may be offered those preferred ranges for viewing heart rate
information.
FIG. 54 illustrates a portion of a pace over distance graph in
which a heart rate summary is displayed in a portion of interface
5400. Summary 5401 may include a variety of information including
the type of workout, the distance, the duration, a pace, an average
heart rate, a number of calories burned and a graph 5403 of how
much time was spent in each displayed heart rate zone. For example,
the bars in graph 5403 may represent the number of minutes and/or
seconds spent in a heart rate range of 140-149, 150-159, 160-169,
170-179, 180-189 and 190-199. Other ranges may be used and/or
automatically determined based on the actual heart rates exhibited
for the workout.
FIG. 55 illustrates another example pace graph 5501 in which the
athlete's actual lap time 5503 is displayed with a split time 5505.
This display may allow the user to compare his current pace with a
desired pace. Additionally, heart rate information for the current
workout and for the split may also be displayed for purposes of
comparison. The split may be generated from a previous workout or
based on a target workout. The target workout may be defined by the
user or a third party such as a coach (e.g., by setting desired 400
meter times and 800 meter times as well as desired heart rates at
predefined points of the workout) or selected from a library of
predefined workouts.
FIGS. 56 and 57 illustrate graphs of heart rate and/or pace
information along with trend lines. The trend line may be
configured to aid an athlete in determining whether the athlete is
improving or regressing in his workouts. For example, in FIG. 56,
pace data points 5603 may be represented in one color while heart
rate data points 5605 may be displayed in a second color. Trend
lines 5607 and 5609 may then be generated and displayed for each of
heart rate data point 5605 and pace data points 5603,
respectively.
FIG. 57 illustrates a heart rate graph 5701 in which a user's
average heart rate for each day is represented as a bar. A trend
line 5703 may overlay or be superimposed on graph 5701 to represent
the user's trend in heart rate for his or her workouts. As
illustrates, trend line 5703 indicates that the user's heart rate
has been declining over the displayed time range. This may help the
athlete determine whether they should increase the pace of their
workouts, increase the length of workouts, change the type of
workouts or the like.
As described herein, an athlete may wear various types of devices
to monitor their workout. In one or more examples, a watch or
athletic band may be used to receive sensor data from a heart rate
sensor, a pedometer, an accelerometer and the like. FIG. 58
illustrates a series of flowcharts illustrating configuration and
initiation screens for activating and using a monitoring device.
For example, flowchart 5801 illustrates the use of only a shoe
based sensor such as a pedometer or accelerometer. A user may
initially be presented with a time display. Upon pressing and
holding a specified button for a predefined amount of time (e.g., 2
seconds), the display may display the word "WALK" and begin a 30
second timer. If user movement is not detected either because the
user is not walking or a sensor is not transmitting data, the
device may timeout and return to a time display. If, however,
athlete movement is detected, the words "SHOE" and "OK" may be
displayed in sequence, followed by the words "PUSH," "TO" and "RUN"
instructing the athlete to push a specified button to begin the run
workout. If the button is not pressed within a predefined amount of
time, the device may timeout. If the button is pressed within the
predefined amount of time, the device may begin to record
performance data.
Flowchart 5803 illustrates a series of displays that may be
generated when the monitoring and data collection device is
configured to receive data from both a shoe based sensor and a
heart rate sensor. As described with respect to flowchart 5801, the
user may activate a workout mode on the device by pressing a
specified button for a specified amount of time. The monitoring
device may then request that the user begin walking so that the
sensors can be detected and the data transmission tested. Depending
on if shoe based sensor data or heart rate data is received first,
the device may proceed to flowchart 5805 or 5807. For example, if
shoe based sensor data is received first, flowchart 5805
illustrates that the words "SHOE" "OK" is displayed to notify the
user that the shoe sensor has been detected and is working
appropriately. The device may then proceed to detect the heart rate
sensor. During this time, the letters "HRS" may be displayed on and
off for a predefined amount of time (e.g., 0.5 seconds every 1
second for 3 seconds). The device may further provide the user with
the option to begin the workout without trying to detect a heart
rate by displaying "OR," "PUSH," "TO," and "RUN" sequentially. If a
user's pushes the button to begin the run, flowchart 5805 may
proceed to display a timer display. If, on the other hand, a heart
rate is detected, the device may proceed to flowchart 5811 which
displays "PUSH," "TO," and "RUN" in sequence to prompt the user to
begin the workout.
If a heart rate is detected first, the device may display "HRS" and
"OK" to indicate that the heart rate sensor is working and
transmitting data. If the shoe sensor has not been previously
detected, the device may instruct the user to walk by displaying
"WALK" for a half second every 1 second for 3 seconds.
Alternatively, the athlete may be given the option to begin the
workout without trying to detect a heart rate by displaying "OR,"
"PUSH," "TO," and "RUN" sequentially. If the shoe sensor is
detected, the words "SHOE," and "OK" are displayed. Subsequently
the user is instructed to activate the workout in flowchart
5809.
If, in either flowcharts 5805 and 5807, a sensor is not detected
and the user does not elect to initiate the workout, a timer of a
predefined length is started where the user is instructed to
initiate the run as illustrated in flowcharts 5811 and 5813. The
timer may, for example, be a 15 minute timer, a 20 minute timer, a
30 minute timer or the like. Once the timer expires, the display
may return to displaying at time of day or some other default
information. In each of flowcharts 5801-5813, the sensors that have
been detected may be indicated by a corresponding icon on the
display. For example, a heart icon may be displayed to represent a
heart rate sensor while a shoe icon may be displayed to represent a
shoe based sensor. In one or more arrangements, the icon may be
displayed in alternate fashions to indicate that the sensors are in
the process of being detected. For example, a heart icon may be
displayed as a red blinking heart or a shoe may be displayed as a
red blinking shoe icon.
FIG. 59 illustrates another example user interface displaying a
user's heart rate during a workout session. In interface 5900, a
user is provided with a plurality of tag options including a
feeling or condition (e.g., mood or physical conditions such as
sick, tired, happy, energetic, etc.) tag 5901, a weather tag 5903
and a run terrain tag 5905. Additionally, interface 5900 allows a
user to specify a heart rate intensity using tag option 5907. Heart
rate intensity may include the subjective feeling or assessment of
the user regarding their heart rate during the run and/or perceived
level of effort or difficulty. For example, the first heart rate
intensity tag 5909 may indicate a comfortable heart rate while tag
5911 may indicate a heart rate intensity where the user was
required to exert him or herself to a greater extent than a
comfortable jog or fast paced walk. Further, tag 5913 may indicate
a heart rate intensity where the user had to maximize his or her
effort. In one or more arrangements, a system may automatically tag
the heart rate intensity based on the user's actual recorded heart
rate for the athletic activity session. For example, if the user
averaged 80% above his or her resting heart rate, a high intensity
heart rate indicator (e.g., indicator 5913) may be selected or used
to tag the activity session. In another example, if the user's
average heart rate during the activity session is 65% above his or
her resting heart rate, the workout session may be labeled with a
medium heart rate intensity tag (e.g., indicator 5911).
Additionally, indicators 5915 may be displayed on the graph as mile
markers or markers for a predefined distance. For example,
indicators 5915 may mark every half mile, every 200 feet, every 100
steps and the like. In other instances, the indicators may
correspond to manual markings specified by the user during a
workout session (e.g., whenever a user presses a mark button or
other predefined button). Accordingly, those manual markings may be
displayed on the graph upon uploading the data to a performance
monitoring site and system (e.g., a remote service provider
website).
FIGS. 60-62 illustrate a series of example interfaces through which
a user may earn a number of credits through the recordation of
heart rate information. The credits earned may be used for bragging
rights or may act as currency for purchase of products or services.
In interface 6000, for example, a user may be encouraged to begin
earning heart beats (e.g., a type of credit) by performing heart
rate activities. The user may then dedicate the heart beats to one
or more of the user's interests. Interface 6000 illustrates a
community heart beats dedication display 6003 in which various
interests, causes, organizations and the like are listed. A number
of heart beats users have dedicated to each interest, cause or
organization may be displayed in association with each of the
interests, causes and/or organizations (e.g., a 10K run, the New
York Marathon, weight loss, breast cancer, vacation, dessert, dog
parks, etc.). The display 6003 may include the interests, causes
and/or organizations having the greatest number of heart beats or
other credits dedicated. Accordingly, the credits or heart beats
may be used to raise awareness of one or more interests, causes
and/or organizations. In some arrangements, the credits may be
associated with a monetary value. For example, a system, company,
user, site or the like may donate an amount of money to an
interest, cause or organization upon the interest, cause or
organization having a specified number of credits (e.g., heart
beats) dedicated thereto.
Credits or currency may have expiration dates in one or more
examples. The expiration dates may be refreshed (e.g., extended)
upon the user performing additional workouts or adding to the
credit or currency pool. In other cases where a user might not have
performed any additional workouts or added currency or credits to
the pool within an expiration time of one or more credits in the
pool, those one or more credits may expire (e.g., be removed from
the pool). Different credits or currency within the earned credits
pool may have different expiration dates, times and periods. For
example, credits earned for one type of athletic activity may have
an effective or expiration period of 2 weeks while credits earned
for another type of athletic activity may have an expiration period
of 1 week.
FIG. 61 illustrates an example interface 6100 through which a user
may specify the interest, cause or organization to which a number
of heart beats may be dedicated. For example, field 6103 may be
used by the user to enter the dedication target. In one or more
arrangements, the user may further specify the number of heart
beats that he or she wishes to dedicate. Accordingly, a user may
dedicate fewer than all of the credits or heart beats that the user
has accumulated and that have not yet been dedicated. Furthermore,
portion of graph 6105 that correspond to the dedicated number of
heart beats or other credits may be displayed differently.
Accordingly, the user may visually determine how the heart beats
earned from a particular run (e.g., represented by graph 6105) are
dedicated. A legend (not shown) may also be displayed to identify
the various interests, causes, organizations and the like.
FIG. 62 illustrates an example interface displayed upon the user
confirming the organization, cause or interest to which the heart
beats are to be dedicated. The user may further edit the dedication
using option 6201 or share the dedication on a social community
site such as FACEBOOK through option 6203.
FIG. 63 illustrates a workout activity graph 6301 identifying the
user's average heart rate during one or more workout sessions. In
the illustrated example, the user's average heart rate is displayed
over a previous 7 workouts in the past two months. The average
heart rate is identified by heart rate marker 6309. Line graph 6311
identifies the trendline corresponding to the average heart rates
recorded for the 7 workouts. Trendlines may be useful since average
heart rates might not provide a user a good sense of progress or
relative performance. In some instances, absolute heart rate
measurements might not allow the user to detect or perceive his or
her progress. The user may use control 6303 to increase the size of
the time frame (e.g., by expanding span bar 6305) and/or move the
time frame (e.g., by moving span bar 6305) along timeline 6307. The
trendline may then adjust appropriately based on the heart rate
data within that time frame (rather than the entire set of
available heart rate data). Graph 6301 may automatically adjust and
in real-time based on the operation of control 6303. A user may
toggle the trendline showing by selecting option 6313. If option
6313 is turned off, the graph 6301 might only display the heart
rate markers and average heart rates without the displaying the
trend.
In one or more examples, a user may select a workout from
multi-workout graph 6301 to cause the system to generate and
display a particular heart rate or pace graph for a selected
workout session. For example, the generated and displayed heart
rate or pace graph may display more detailed heart rate or pace
information (e.g., every minute, every 30 minutes, every hour) for
the workout session or for that workout day. A maximum and minimum
heart rate may also be specified.
The methods and features recited herein may further be implemented
through any number of computer readable media that are able to
store computer readable instructions. Examples of computer readable
media that may be used include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or
other memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical disc
storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic storage and
the like.
While illustrative systems and methods described herein embodying
various aspects are shown, it will be understood by those skilled
in the art that the invention is not limited to these embodiments.
Modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly
in light of the foregoing teachings. For example, each of the
elements of the aforementioned embodiments may be utilized alone or
in combination or sub-combination with the elements in the other
embodiments. It will also be appreciated and understood that
modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit
and scope of the present invention. The description is thus to be
regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive on the present
invention.
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